Mule on four wheels - Willys Jeep (historical test)

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Mule on four wheels - Willys Jeep (historical test)

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Created on September 1, 1954

Text:

Tom McCahill

Photos:

Daniel Reinhard

2

FCA Media / Jeep

14

Jeep

1

Chrysler Group

1

Archiv

5

23

Willys Jeep CJ-6 (1959) - Version with longer wheelbase

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Willys Jeep MA (1941) - pre-production model

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Willys Jeep MA (1941) - pre-production model

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Willys Jeep MB (1942) - with the nine-piece radiator grille

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Willys Jeep MB (1944) - in military look

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Jeep (1953) - counter-steered Hurricane engine - at the Geneva Motor Show in 1953

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Willys Jeep Universal (1946) - equipped for desert excursions

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Willys Jeep (1946) - Advertising - the jeep has two business ends

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Willys Jeep CJ-3B (1953) - civilian version

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Willys Jeep M-38 A1 (1955) - military version

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Willys Jeep (1956) - one of the few 4x4 off-road vehicles at the show - Geneva Motor Show 1956

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Willys Jeep (1957) - for special missions - Geneva Motor Show 1957

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Willys Jeep CJ-5 (1964) - almost looks like the Jeep Wrangler of today

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Willys Jeep CJ-5 (1966) - with short wheelbase

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Willys Jeep (1956) - shown freshly restored, costs for complete overhaul at 20,000 to 25,000 francs - Geneva Motor Show 1976

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Willys MB (1943) and Jeep Wrangler (1996)

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Jeep (1941) - in the Museo nazionale dell`automobile di Torino

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Willys Jeep (1941) - developed for the military (Geneva Motor Show 2018)

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Summary

Tom McCahlll, the famous American car tester, bought a Jeep in the early 1950s, put a few more dollars into it and turned it into a comfortable vehicle. This report reproduces the original article from Mechanix Illustrated, which was printed in the magazine 'hobby' in 1954. Illustrated with many historical pictures, this "test report" gives an impression of how the Jeep felt in 1954.

This article contains the following chapters

Bone shaker
Powerful enough
Operating problems
Correctable comfort deficits
Missing ashtray
Retrofitted pulley and rear seat bench
The great vehicle of America

Estimated reading time: 7min

Preview (beginning of the article)

Buffalo Bill came into my life one fine evening. Buffalo Bill is a Jeep, and that beautiful evening was last fall. On the endlessly long way home - we had 65 km to cover - it wouldn't have taken much for my friend Jim and I to freeze to death, because we were both only wearing sports shirts and no hats, and before we got home, the beautiful evening had turned into a cold night below zero. The worst part of the whole thing was that I don't make concessions when it comes to breaking in an engine, so we crawled along so slowly that we had more than enough time to commiserate about our predicament.

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